Avengers: Battle for the Gauntlet
by Knight Europa
Summary: After the Avengers and Guardians are left in defeat in the wake of Thanos, a new team appears, claiming to be Avengers from another world! Will both teams be able to work together to stop the greatest threat the universe has ever known?
1. Chapter 1

The Avengers: Battle for the Gauntlet

Chapter One: Heroes of Another World

Author's note: This is a work of fan fiction, the characters named, and used in this story are property of Marvel Comics and Marvel Studios. The Original Characters used are my own. This story will contain SPOILERS in regards to the Infinity War film, so PLEASE, PLEASE see it before reading it to avoid being spoiled.

The fight was over; Thanos had won. Half of the population throughout the entire galaxy had been reduced to nothing but dust and ashes. Steve Rogers sat down beside a tree, the proud spirit he once held inside had been crushed, all he being able to say was a near catatonic like "Oh, God.." as James 'Bucky' Buchanan Barnes, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff, Groot, and T'Challa had faded from existence, one by one. Vision had been killed not once, but twice. Once via sacrificing himself to ensure the Mad Titan did not get the mind stone, having Wanda destroy it with her magic, the second time by Thanos himself, when he ripped it out of the android's head to complete his Gauntlet.

Thor stood nearby with his Stormbreaker axe in hand, looking down at it before muttering "It's my fault...Thanos won because I didn't go for the head." "No, it isn't! You did what you thought would work. That thing you have in your hand? It was honestly our best bet against that mad man." Natasha Romanoff declared to the Asgardian, whiles James Rhodes and Bruce Banner looked over the Wakandan battlefield: Many of the Outriders had been killed in the fight, but there was still an uneasiness in the air. "What do we do now?" Rhodey asked, Banner simply shaking his head and responding "I honestly don't know. Half of humanity is gone, we're all that stand between the rest of the world and Thanos."

"I want to find this purple colored douche bag, and I want to shove my gun into his mouth!" Rocket Raccoon yelled out in anger, marching up to Steve with a look of anger in his eyes. Slowly, The Captain looked over at the space traveling mammal, speaking softly "I know you're mad-" "Mad? MAD?! I just had to watch my best friend die for a SECOND TIME!" Rocket yelled at him, only for Thor to gently pick him up and say "Now is not the time for unchecked anger, Sweet Rabbit. We have to gather our forces and find a way to fight Thanos once more." "Just one problem with that. We don't know where he is now, or how damaged the Infinity Gauntlet is." Natasha interjected, helping Steve stand up, all of them turning to a voice behind them. "T'challa is gone, Wakanda has no King." Okoye said in an angry, yet somber tone, standing in front of the Avengers and one Guardian of the Galaxy, spear held in hand. "Whatever it is you must do, do it with haste and importance. This planet cannot survive another snap of the fingers." "You have our word we'll stop Thanos, and we will find a way to bring T'challa back to his people." Rhodey said with determination, only for the group to slowly look in the direction of a rumbling.

More Outriders were rushing towards the combatants, arms raised and ready to attack the remaining warriors. "How? I thought their ships were destroyed, we had beaten them!" Thor spoke in a shocked tone, with Steve preparing his shield gauntlets and War Machine's helmet resetting and the eyes glowing, Natasha bringing out her two batons and getting ready for combat, but a loud noise caught the groups attention. A sphere of green and blue energies appeared before them, the colors swirling around rapidly before vanishing in an explosion of light. From within the light, were five figures; Three men and two women, with each looking around their surroundings before quickly noticing the small group of heroes, and their enemies. "Who are these jokers supposed to be?!" Rocket demanded while four of them spread out to meet their enemies.

"Wiz, stay with Cap! Harker, Kabuto, thin their ranks! Wiccan, you and I will provide support from range." ordered a teenage looking man who wore a pair of blue jeans, a faded, grungy looking t-shirt with a pair of black fingerless gloves and and shoes. The most peculiar thing about this young man were his hair and eye colors- a vibrant silver and purple, with his hair going down to his mid back. "You got it, Volt!" said a blonde haired woman in a wheel chair, who wore a pink sweater with blue jeans and black boots wheeled herself over to Steve, who looked at her in utter confusion as she said "Hehe, Privet, kapitan Rodzhers. My zdes', chtoby pomoch'!" (Hello, Captain Rogers, we're here to help!) "Ty govorish' po-russki?" (You speak Russian?) Natasha asked in shock, the young girl nodding. "Da, but I also speak English! You see we-" She was cut off by a loud yell, looking to see the battle ahead of them.

Kabuto, a Japanese man of tall stature and physique approached the Outrider horde, clenching his fists as something strange began to form on his body. The coloring of it was a beautiful shade of red, covering him in a steel armor that included wings on the back, and a rhino horn style helmet on his head. Letting out a yell of "Hajime!" (Begin!) as he slammed an armored fist into one of the opponents, sending it flying backwards into a smaller group, only for him to charge forward and swing his arm at them like it was a baseball bat, sending them all flying into the air and back onto the ground with loud thuds and drops. "Who in the world _are_ these guys?" asked Rhodes, about to take to the air, only for Bruce to raise the Hulk Buster's remaining arm to signal him to stop. "Whoever they are, they seem to have experience with these things." replied the scientist.

Harker, the second woman in the group took to battle next. The warrior's skin was a pale, almost ghostly. Her hair was long, curling to her shoulders, chestnut in color and jam red colored eyes that appeared to have a slight glow as she reached into a belt that housed twin daggers on either side. Her attire was rather fashionable, consisting of a Victorian Era suit that had black slacks, a silver vest with buttons on the front, a long sleeved white shirt with a black puff tie and matching tail coat, finished with a pair of black high button leather boots. Pulling the daggers from their holsters, she twirled them rapidly before getting into a stance. "Time to dance once more, Lucy and Abraham." she said while giving a smile, rushing forward and turning into a blur of speed, slicing the Outriders she came across with precision and ferocity, sliding to a stop as her targets all started to spray blood on the grounds of Wakanda, Okoye leaning over to Natasha and whispering "I approve of her!" with an almost awe sounding voice, the blonde agent looking forward with a look of shock.

Wiccan took his turn next, sporting a more traditional hero type outfit, consisting of a midnight blue colored tights, a brown leather belt with a pouch on it, a torn and tattered cloak around his neck and top half of his torso. The final pieces were metal bracers that had red gems in the center above his hands, and a headband that tucked some of the bangs of his black hair away. Grasping his hands together, he then spread them apart, crimson red energy surrounding them as he took to the air, Steve gasping at the display, saying "He's just like Wanda.." while the young man shot out bolts of magic from one hand, keeping his other hand steady to stay aloft. Once a few more Outriders were down, he landed and held his hands out towards one of the trees, grunting as he clenched his hands tighter and, with effort, uprooted the tree, the large piece of wood covered in hex magic with him hurling it at another group.

The one who gave out the orders from before stepped forward, his body starting to crackle with electricity all over. Cracking his knuckles, he shot an arm out, an arc of electricity shooting forward and hitting one Outrider, bringing them to their knees as Kabuto ran up and field goal style kicked it through the air, the two giving a thumbs up to each other as Volt focused on another, smaller group that was rushing him.

 _"How many times are we going to have to fight you things?"_ he thought to himself while shooting out electricity from both hands, chaining the element into multiple targets. Letting out a small grin, the teenager began to feel like they had a shot at winning..only for his powers to sputter and fully stop, seeing a small group running at him full force. "Oh shit, not now!" Volt yelled out. "Hang on, Voltage!" Anya called to him, the wheelchair woman holding up her hands and summoning a bright led lit, virtual keyboard, fingers flying across it as she focused on putting in various codes. Thor looked at her in stunned silence before whispering to Rocket "Rabbit, how does she do that?" the God of Thunder inquired, with the raccoon sitting upon Thor's shoulder and shaking his head. "I dunno, never seen anything like that before." Hitting the enter button on they keyboard, Wiz turned to Banner and said "Brace for impact, sir!" "For wha- AHHH!" Bruce yelled out suddenly, the Hulk Buster's helmet slamming down and the jets on its boots firing up, the suit of armor taking off and slamming into the last of the group, with the sound of pins being bowled over going off in the background.

With the Outriders now out of commission, the group of new arrivals made their way back to the heroes, Rhodey's helmet slowly opening back up and standing beside Thor, Rocket, and Okoye as Bruce climbed out of his own armor, wincing at his head pain from the impact of the torpedo style attack, stumbling back to them. "How-" he started, only for her to hold up a finger to indicate 'one moment' before she hit a few more buttons and lowered her hands, the keyboard vanishing. Rogers and Romanoff looked at the girl in the wheelchair, backing away slowly as Kabuto, Wiccan, Harker, and Voltage stood beside her. "We've got questions." Steve said plainly. "We have answers." Wiccan responded.

The warriors made their way back to T'challa's palace, sitting, or standing around in Shuri's lab while the new arrivals huddled together, whispering in hushed tones. The man who went by the name of Kabuto raised his head to look at Steve Rogers, only for Harker to grab the back of it and pull him back down without looking up. After some debate, the five people broke their huddle and took a few chairs. "First things first: Who are you, where do you come from, and how do you know us?" Captain Rogers asked. "We're the Avengers." Wiccan stated matter of factually, the originals looking at them in both surprise and slight anger. "That's not possible. -We- are the Avengers!" Natasha said indignantly, Banner holding his hands up to stop her from yelling. "Hold on, Nat, let them say their piece. How are you the Avengers?" The silver haired teenager stepped forward, clearing his throat. "First, introductions, yes? I am Trevor Fortune, otherwise known as Voltage. This is Jin Nakamura, aka Kabuto." The Japanese man bowed formally to the group, saying "Min'na ni au no wa kōeidesu." (It is an honor to meet everyone). "Does he speak English?" Rhodes asked, Trevor nodding his head. "He does, he just prefers to use his native language when in battle, or meeting people.

"Joanne Harker, pleased to meet you." said the suit wearing woman, Shuri approaching her cautiously and saying "Could you please open your mouth?" "Why?" "Your last name is Harker, a character from Bram Stoker's _Dracula._ I saw how fast you moved out there in that battle, and could see you lick some blood off of your daggers after you fought." Shuri looked serious, and Joanne took a deep breath, opening her mouth to reveal two large fangs, causing the scientist to gasp and step back. "The story you read was real. My father Johnathan did fight Count Dracula all those years ago, but my mother, Mina kept her vampire powers after Van Helsing staked that monster through the heart. I am Dhampir- a mix of human and vampire." "So Stoker based his novel off of real life events?"asked Steve in surprise, the vampiress nodding her head solemnly. "Yes, it's why I fight with daggers instead of my powers; to keep myself more hidden, and because I don't like using my more...primal abilities. I have their strengths, but none of the weaknesses, the two exceptions being the thirst, and high level magic. That's why we have this guy." Joanne said, clapping Wiccan on the back, who introduced himself next.

"My name is William Kaplan, but please, call me Billy. I'm known as Wiccan, and am the current Sorcerer Supreme where we come from. You could probably already tell but, magic is my specialty." "Your magic was just like Wanda Maximoff's. How is that possible?" Thor asked, arms crossed over his chest while studying the magician. "Wanda is my...She is my Mother." Billy answered slowly, clenching his fists. "Where is she?" he demanded to the others, a look of sadness overcoming them before Steve stepped forward, reaching out to hug Wiccan. "I'm sorry, Billy, but Wanda was a victim of Thanos' finger snap. Her, and many others are gone now...We don't know if we can bring them back or not."

Billy's eyes began to tear up, looking over as members of the Jabari tribe set Vision's lifeless body onto a nearby table, the young wizard falling to his knees and starting to cry uncontrollably. M'Baku beckoned Okoye over, the two whispering while Wiz wheeled herself over to Wiccan, rubbing his back gently, looking up at the others. "Vision was his Father where we come from, now he has lost his parents in two different worlds." M'Baku spoke up, saying with a quiet dignity "We shall keep him hidden in this palace until you can repair him. You have my word as leader of the Jabari that nothing else will befall him." "Thank you, M'Baku." Shuri said, with both him and Okoye picking up Vision and carrying him off, Wiccan wiping his tears away and slowly standing up.

"Alright. Last one up, I guess. My name is Anya Patellov, or Wiz. That thing with the keyboard from earlier is my invention. I'm the tech expert of our group, and that's how I help out in the field, among other things. You wanted to know how we came here?" "Yes." Rhodes said, now wearing a grey t-shirt and pants with Stark Tech bracers on his legs. Nodding, Anya brought out her keyboard once more, typing in a few commands as a holographic image appeared in front of everyone. "As you know, there are six Infinity Stones. One for each element within the galaxy; Power, Space, Reality, Soul, Time, and Mind. Collected together, they made Thanos unstoppable, but in our world, he was eventually taken down at a great cost." Anya explained to them, Jin speaking up after her.

"The Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, Inhumans, and Defenders had to pry them out of the Infinity Gauntlet, no small feat. There were casualties just from that act alone. Once they were removed, the Stones were used by those who shouldn't have been able to wield them, all to stop the Mad Titan- In the end, we five were the only ones left. But Anya noticed something strange in her readings of the Time and Space Stones."

"I found that there were other worlds; not just planets like the ones in our solar system, but different dimensions, and in each one the ending was always the same. Thanos wins, no matter what. However, there was an exception of one world, your world. Vision in this time line had sacrificed himself to ensure Thanos didn't get his hands on the Mind Stone. That's when I began to recreate the Time and Space Stones from their shattered hunks, no easy task."

"Our original plan was to use the Time Stone to travel back to the point Thanos invaded Xandar for the Power Stone, in an attempt to stop him before he could even begin his quest. However, there was a slight problem." Joanne interjected while looking over at Trevor, who looked like he was reliving a war in his head, speaking in Hungarian with a harsh tone "Trev, kipattanjon belőle" (Trev, snap out of it). Voltage snapped back to reality and shook his head, rubbing his neck "Sorry, sorry. She's right though. The Time Stone was imperfect when recreated, it was still cracked and missing small pieces, so it couldn't go as far back as we wanted; we found the right _space_ , but the wrong _time_. We were too late to save Vision or anyone else. Worst part? They were useful as a one way trip." "Now that you're here though, what can you do to help us? We don't even know where Iron-Man or the other Guardians are." Thor inquired, Shuri and Anya looking at each other as a plan formed in their heads.

On the planet of Titan, Tony Stark was sitting on a rock with his face buried in his hands, mind racing from the events that took place; He, Peter Parker, Stephen Strange, Mantis, Drax, and Peter Quill had nearly gotten the Infinity Gauntlet off of Thanos' hand, only for Quill to attack him in a rage at the news of Gammora's death. That's when things had gotten from bad to worse. Strange had to give up the Time Stone in order to ensure Tony lived, and then...The Snap. Quill, Drax, Mantis, Strange, had turned to dust instantly, but Peter's was drawn out, his Spider Sense having alerted him and not being able to do anything to stop the inevitable. Tony sat there, seeing the young hero on the ground and begging "Mr. Stark, I don't want to go. I don't want to go.." before turning to dust like the rest.

"We need to get off of this planet, and find anyone else who survived." Nebula said to the inventor, he refusing to look up. "Why? So he can wipe out the other half? Who are you, anyways?" Stark said with a look of anger in his eyes before slowly looking at the blue woman. "I mean are you, what? A California Raisin? You look past your expiration date." Nebula responded by sending her fist into Stark's face, causing the man to tumble off the rock he was sitting on. "We don't have time for a pity party! Thanos is out there and he still has all of the Infinity Stones! You can either sit there and feel sorry, or you can get up and -do- something about it, like avenge your friends!" "You think I don't want too?" he responded in a soft, yet angry tone, standing up and getting into the assassin's face. "Right now I want a suit of armor that is so powerful, he would BEG for mercy. Would I give him any? Hell no. I want to go back to Earth and see if everyone else is OK, but we can't get off this rock!"

As soon as Tony finished his sentence, a rainbow colored column of light shot down onto Titan, and from within a metal empty door looking object appeared, Stark and Nebula glancing at each other in confusion for a moment, until the door started to spark to life with electricity and energy, a voice could be heard from beyond the portal shouting "Tony! Tony step through the door!" "Steve..?" Tony asked in a shocked voice, grabbing the cyborg's hand and nodding his head at the device. "I think we can trust it, there's good people beyond that gate."

-Two hours Earlier-

"You are sure this will work?" Thor asked as Shuri and Anya completed the schematics for their idea; a door of Vibranium that could connect one world to another with coordinates put into Wiz's keyboard. "We are not one hundred percent certain, but a small chance is still a chance, Mr. God of Thunder." Shuri answered, hitting a few more buttons on a screen she sat by, looking over at Anya. "How soon can you get this thing made?" "Starting right now, Miss Shuri!" Anya replied, fingers dancing across the holographic screen as a 3D printer came to life, sending the Vibranium through a laser that, once it was finished, formed two different door frames. "What do we need to do now?" Bruce asked, grabbing one of the doors and helping Steve set it upright in front of them. "First, we need Thor to send this frame to Mr. Stark's location, Wiccan, any progress?" Anya asked the wizard, who had been floating in the air, sitting in a meditative position with magical runes surrounding his body.

"I see them, deep in space. A planet that was once full of life and prosperity, now empty with only ruins...A battle was fought there, with many casualties. A man is mourning, and a woman is angry..I think I found them." "That angry lady has to be Nebula, if she's with this Stark guy then that means they've got to be on the same planet." Rocket said while hopping off of Thor's shoulder, walking over to Wiccan, studying him a bit before turning around and said "Thor, open up the Bifrost, send the door to them." "Alright. Here's hoping." Holding up the Storm Breaker, the Bifrost surrounded the door and sent it hurtling through space, once it reached it's destination, Anya looked over to Trevor. "Volt, electrify the Vibranium, once it's energized, Wiccan will use his magic to amplify the wormhole and accelerate the travel speed. In theory, they should arrive her in an instant."

"In theory?" Rhodes asked in disbelief, shaking his head. "So there's still a possibility of not even finding them?" "Oh we found them, the issue is getting them back safely. These portals wont last long." Anya retorted, tapping onto her hologram keyboard a few more times before giving a nod to her leader. Stepping forward, Trevor flexed his fingers before they started to crackle with blue sparks; cupping his hands together, he threw them forward in an electric Hadouken style attack with the electricity arcing off of one side of the door frame and bouncing it along the walls, Billy standing beside him and bringing his hands up as well, chaos magic encircling them. "I hope this works.." the sorcerer said quietly, firing off a wall of magic into the door frame.

The Vibranium door came to life in an instant, both teenagers trying their best to focus their powers as Steve walked to the door and cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting "Tony! Tony, if you can hear me, step through the door!" "Keep it up you two, the other door is stabilizing!" Anya said triumphantly, only for Volt's powers to once more start to sputter out, he looking down at his hands and saying "No! No come on! COME ON!", shutting his eyes to focus more energy, but soon he realized he was no longer using his own ability; Thor had placed a hand onto his shoulder and, tapping into his own godly powers, used the young boy as a conduit, both sending out electrical arcs as Natasha reached a hand into the portal, calling over to Jin and Harker. "I got someone! Help me pull them out!" "Got it!" Jin responded, rushing over to Natasha and grabbing her other arm, giving Harker his free one as Bruce and James grabbed theirs, Shuri reading over a screen with a look of awe. "There's two life forces nearing Wakanda at a rapid speed! Don't let them go!" With great effort, the chain pulled out two people from the other side of the gate; Tony Stark and Nebula, both collapsing onto the floor as Thor, Trevor, and Billy slowly allowed it to shut, with Steve helping Tony off of the floor, Rocket helping Nebula up.

"Where's Quill? Where are the others?" Rocket asked the blue woman, who could only give a quiet look to the Raccoon before saying "Gammora was murdered by Thanos, in order to get the Soul Stone, the others..They're gone..Turned to dust. Not just them." "What?!" Rocket yelled, climbing up into her face with teeth bared. "You mean to tell me we're the only ones left?!" "I'm sorry, Rocket." she said, fighting back an urge to start throwing things around them, instead sitting in a nearby chair with her fists clenched. "The Guardians of the Galaxy, gone." Rocket said quietly, sliding off of Nebula and sitting on the floor. "Tony, what happened out there? What did Thanos do?" "He won, that's what happened. We almost had that damned gauntlet off of his hand, but Quill lost his cool and-" Bringing his a hand up to his face, he looked at Steve before whispering "He's gone, Steve, the kid, Peter, he's..He didn't make it." Rogers brought Stark in for a hug, despite the two's previous animosity towards one another a few years before. "I'm sorry, Tony. I'm so sorry..It shouldn't have turned out this way." "Mr. Stark?" Anya asked, wheeling herself over towards him with a hand outstretched. "It is an honor to meet you."

Tony looked over at her, then looked up to the others, seeing Banner, Rhodes, Romanoff, Thor, and a Raccoon, then he saw the teenaged warriors, taking a deep breath. "Who are these kids? Why are they here?" "We're here to help, Stark-san." Jin said to him with a formal bow, but the inventor backed away from Anya, shaking his head. "No, no no no. I'm not letting anymore kids fight, not happening. You all should go home to your parents, they're probably worried about you." Harker rushed him in a blur, pinning him against a wall with Lucy held to his throat, glaring at the man. "Te rohadék! Nincsenek szüleink! Mindannyiunkat elvesztettük, akiket Thanos miatt szerettünk!" (You bastard! We don't have parents! We lost everyone we loved because of Thanos!) "JOANNE!" Trevor yelled at her, pulling the taller woman away by the shoulder, she refusing to budge until he sent a shock through her arm, shaking his head. "We can't afford to make anymore enemies. Right now all we have is each other, for better or worse. Got it?"

The two held each others gaze for a moment, but Harker soon relented, holstering her knife and walking away in a huff. "Forgive her, she's been on edge for a long time, being immortal sometimes messes with her emotions." Billy said quietly, Stark slowly lowering himself off of the wall and giving a small sigh. "Tony, they need us, just as much as we need them. Like it or not, we're all each group has." Bruce said calmly, with Iron-Man nodding his head and rubbing his temples with his palms for a moment. "Okay, start from the beginning. Who are you all exactly?" Soon Anya and Billy used both their tech and magic to explain their situation, how Thanos had wiped out everyone in their world, and how they arrived right after the events of the Battle of Wakanda. "We've lost nearly the entire Avengers team." Natasha spoke up, looking at the story display before speaking to Shuri. "I'm sorry to ask this, but is there any way we can stay here for just a bit? We're in need of rest." "Of course. My brother would have welcomed you here for your bravery, and so I shall do the same. We have many rooms for you to stay in, just know that we may need you all at a moments notice." "No problem, ma'am. We'll be more than happy to help you or anyone in need." said Jin who looked over at Trevor. "You may need to go find Harker and show her to her room." "He won't need too." a voice said from above them; looking up they spotted Joanne crouching perfectly on an overheard light, Rhodes looking at her in utter surprise as Steve said "How did you-" "Being silent in and out of battle is one thing I'm good at." she answered with a cut off, hopping down and landing beside the electricity wielding teenager.

"Come on guys, it's been..a hell of a day. Let's go get some sleep." Rocket told the group, all of them making their way to a room a piece, slowly finding rest or sleep in their own way.

-To Be Continued.-


	2. Chapter 2

The Avengers: Battle for the Gauntlet

Chapter Two: A Brief Reprieve

Trevor woke up the next morning, rubbing his eyes and getting out of the bed he had slept in groggily, opening the room door, and walking over to Joanne's room, knocking on it gently. "Harker, is it okay if I come in?" he asked quietly, listening closely as her voice called back "Come on in, Trev." Opening the door to her room, the teenager stepped inside and shut the door.

Tony Stark walked into Shuri's lab, seeing Anya typing away on her hologram keyboard, watching her curiously while sipping from a mug of coffee before speaking to the Russian girl. "You're up early." "Dobroye utro, mister Stark!" (Good morning, Mr. Stark!) Anya replied cheerfully, swiping the keyboard away and bringing up blue prints for something that Stark only got a small glance of before it vanished; what he did see looked rather large, like a giant leg, but he couldn't tell what it was. "What are you working on? And how long have you been awake?" "I woke up an hour ago, couldn't really sleep much since my mind is always working on something." she replied with a smile to the inventor, before bringing up schematics for a design. Tony's eyes went wide, nearly dropping the coffee mug as he stared at the holographic screen. "What in the hell is -that-?" he asked in awe, Anya magnifying the image to make it larger. "In my world, you were my mentor, and we had been working together on an entirely new Iron-Man armor to deal with the threat of Thanos. You were going to call it the 'ThanosBuster'. Ideally, it would have matched him in pure strength and have enough energy to counter the Infinity Stones."

"Wait a moment. I was your mentor?" Tony asked, putting the mug down and examining the schematics closely, his eyes taking in every detail of the design while ideas ran through his mind. "Da, you were recruiting a new, younger team to take on the mantle of the Avengers due to all of the fighting taking its toll on your body and mind. You felt it was a perfect time to bring in a new team to defend Earth. Jin was your lab partner that you had hired from Japan right after he graduated college. I joined a little later. However, we could never complete the armor; Thanos attacked us in New York, and it took everything to stop him...We were the only ones left." after finishing her explanation, Anya turned to face Tony in her wheelchair, leaning back slightly. "I think if we can complete it in this world, things might work differently." "How did you keep the designs intact? Virtual drive? Holographic display files? Thumb USB?" Giggling, she slowly tapped the side of her head. "I uploaded everything from the New Avengers Facility into my mind. That's part of my power, Mr. Stark. I can upload data into my mind via my keyboard, where it's stored into different 'files'" "How do you sleep with all that in your brain?" "Remember how I said my mind is always working on something? It's like putting a computer into Rest Mode. It's at a lower power, but it's still turned on. That's what it's like when I sleep."

Stark looked at her for a moment, an expression of sadness touching his face for a moment. "You must not sleep a lot then." "I get enough to get by, that's all that matters. My friends need me, and I can manage with roughly six to seven hours." Giving another smile, she began to turn her chair around again, facing it towards the ramp to go upstairs, Tony grabbing the handles and starting to push her, saying "You know, I can set you up with some leg braces, Stark Tech, same kind Rhodey uses." "Mr. Stark, just because I am in a wheelchair, does not mean I am without movement." "I-I didn't mean to offend, sorry, was just trying-" "No need to apologize! I appreciate your concern. Could you please take me to Miss Romanoff? I believe she was wanting to talk to me about our world's Infinity Stones." "Sure thing, kid." he answered, wheeling her out of the lab and into a large hallway. Upon seeing Shuri, the young girl asked her new friend and tech partner "How is the progress going so far?" "It will take some more time until it is finished, but it can be done. I am amazed you managed to come up with both ideas in one night." "I just hope both can be accomplished before we fight Thanos.."

Thor had been making his way down the hall of bedrooms when he saw Trevor exit Harker's room, shutting the door quietly and glancing to the Asgardian with an embarrassed look on his face before walking back to his own room. With a curious look on his face, Thor made his way over to the door and spoke "Miss Joanne? May I come in to speak with you?" When there was no response, he slowly turned the handle and started to open the door up, only to yell as a dagger came flying through the wood, poking out through it inches away from his face. "Nem tudod, hogyan kopogtass?!" (Do you not know how to knock?!) Harker yelled angrily in Hungarian, Thor slowly poking his head into the small gap and gulped, shutting the door quickly when he saw she had only a bed sheet wrapped around her body, glaring at the God of Thunder. "Smooth move, Thunderdome." Rocket said while passing him through the hall, chuckling to himself as the man gave the Raccoon a 'Are you serious?' expression. From the other side of the door, the dagger would be pulled out of the wood, and Joanne opened the door, dressed in the same Victorian style outfit she had the other day.

"My apologies, Miss Joanne! I didn't know, I thought young Trevor had-" he stopped, his face slowly starting to turn a slight shade of pink as a look of realization dawned on him. "You and he are betrothed?" Thor asked, Harker staring at him before muttering "Idiot." and beckoning him inside, the taller man shutting the door. "Trev and I are not married, we're not even dating." "But you were in a bed sheet after-" "I had taken a shower and he left to give me privacy to dress. He and I were speaking telepathically as I showered." "Telepathically?" he asked her, only for his eyes to go wide as her voice suddenly spoke inside of his mind, simply saying _"Boo."_ "What in the Nine Realms was that?!" "Telepathy, the ability to speak to someone using your mind. It's one of my powers as a Damphyr. Trevor comes to me every once in a while to talk about things that trouble him, it helps him relax." "Speaking of him being troubled, I did notice that in the fight against the beasts of Thanos, and when powering up the gate, his electricity stopped working midway. Is there a particular reason for that?"

Letting out a slight sigh, Harker sat down on her bed, glancing down at the spot where her friend had been sitting while she used the bathroom's shower. "I am unsure if it is my place to say or not, Thor. His electricity is based off an enhancement he received from his mother at birth; she had the ability to manipulate light. But there was another one who received an enhancement from Mrs. Fortune; her daughter, and Trevor's older twin sister, Trish. She could summon, manipulate, and weaponize ice." "An older sister? She didn't..fall to the side of evil did she?" Thor asked cautiously, Harker looking at him like he had asked if the sky was blue. "No! Trish was one of the most powerful Young Avengers that was recruited to join the new team. However, Thanos saw her for what she had the potential to be; a great threat to his plans. During the last battle, she tried to freeze him solid from a sneak attack, but..." Joanne began to cry, tears starting to run down her face. "He reversed it with that damned Reality Stone! She ended up frozen, and then that bastard shattered her into pieces, right in front of her brother! Trevor was devastated, and his powers haven't worked right since then. Once he gets too emotionally clouded, he short circuits and cant produce any electricity. Remember how he looked like he was fighting inside of his own head yesterday, and I snapped him out of it?" "Yes, I remember." "He sees her shattering into pieces, on a loop. He wants revenge against Thanos the most out of all of us, but he needs help." "Then help I shall!" Thor said with determination, standing up and making his way to the bedroom door, Joanne slowly standing up to say "What are you going to do?" "Odin helped me find my inner Thunder God during Ragnarok. Perhaps I can do the same for him." with that, Thor exited the room and made his way down to Trevor's, knocking on it.

"What should our next plan be, Steve? We can't stay in Wakanda forever, Thanos could strike again at any minute." said Rhodes, sitting at a small table, with Captain Rogers standing across from him, chin resting on a fist as he thought to himself. "I know we can't, James. The problem we have is that we don't know where Thanos is at the moment. If we can learn more about our new allies, maybe there's a chance we could take the fight to him, get that gauntlet off of his arm and smack him around with it." "It won't be that simple, though. He still has all six Infinity Stones, and we're missing over half of our team. How do we stand up to that type of power?" asked Bruce, who was sitting across from Rhodes when Billy walked into the room with Jin by his side. "Good morning, everyone." Jin said with a bow, Billy looking at the gathered people and speaking up.

"We want to be able to help you with this fight, so Jin and I were discussing tactics. Thanos was able to take on multiple heroes in our world with little problem, and he managed to beat Hulk one on one, yes?" "Yeah, and now Big Green won't come out to play." Bruce spoke in an annoyed fashion. "Well, I think I can answer that one for you, Mr. Banner." Jin replied, sitting beside him. "Hulk has always been the strongest, yes? No one has ever beaten him in combat?" "Right. He beat Abomination, the Chitauri forces, even gave Loki a good smacking. The only one who could come close to stopping him was Thor." "Precisely. Thanos handed Hulk his first sound defeat. He's not scared of fighting, but rather tired of it." said the Japanese man. "What?" "What he means is that Hulk has been fighting for preservation. He cannot exist without Banner, so what does he do when Banner is danger?" asked Billy, eyebrows slightly raised. "He comes out to protect me.." Bruce said with a look of understanding on his face. "Exactly. This happened in our world, Bruce. Hulk was beaten so badly that he refused to join in the fight, so you did something different; you fought with your intellect. You can still do that here." said Jin with a smile.

"They're not wrong you know." Steve spoke with a soft smile at the two boys, when suddenly his phone started to ring in his pocket, he looking at it in surprise before answering it with a confused "Hello?" "Steve?! Thank goodness I finally reached you!" a female voice said on the other line, Captain Rogers eyes went wide at the familiar tone, looking at the others before saying "S-Sharon? Where are you? What's going o-" "You need to get back to New York! Bring everyone! Coulson has information you all need to hear!" Steve dropped his phone at the last sentence, Billy holding his hand out to catch it with a small amount of his magic, levitating it back up to him. "Hello? Hello? Steve are you there?" Sharon Carter said frantically on the other line, Steve slowly taking the phone and whispering "We'll be there soon." before disconnecting the call, saying to his allies "Get everyone gathered around. We're going home."

Trevor opened the door to the room he was staying in, surprised to see Thor standing in front of him. "Greetings, young Fortune!" "How can I help you, Thor?" "You and I are to start training post haste! Come!" "Training for what?" he asked, confused. Thor clapped a hand onto the young man's shoulder, smiling. "To bring out the best of you. Harker believes you've potential to be a great Avenger, and I can see that your powers can be greater then what they currently are." "She's delusional then. I've got nothing but failure." the teenager said, opening the door fully with an irritated look on his face. "I understand how you feel. You're haunted by the death of a loved one, and it hurts. Come with me, and we shall talk." "Okay..." Trevor said softly, shutting the door behind him as he and Thor walked down the long halls to the outside area.

"These Infinity Stones from your world are the same as ours. How were you able to repair the ones you used to get here?" Natasha asked Anya, the two sitting across from one another with Tony leaning against a wall, watching them, Shuri listening to their conversation as she worked on a project nearby. "It was a very long process, Wdova (Widow)." "Start from the beginning, Anya. Tell us everything that happened." "It all started when Thanos brought his army to New York. First the Children, then the Outriders, and finally the Titan himself." "Wait, why attack that specific place?" Tony asked, approaching the table and placing his hands on it. "He saw how the Chitauri had fallen during Loki's attempted invasion. He saw the Avengers as a threat, but we also had heroes from different groups as well. Those such as Daredevil, Luke Cage, Jessica Jones and Iron Fist. They made up a small group called The Defenders. Then there were the Inhumans, lead by Black Bolt, along with his wife Medusa, and rest of his family. The Guardians of the Galaxy were also a part of this great battle, but still, we were not match for Thanos with our numbers. Captain America of our world was the first one to pry out the Time Stone, followed by Drax removing the Soul Stone. After removing them, however, the Stones' power overwhelmed them, and the others that were removed did the same thing. That's when you grabbed the Space Stone and ordered the others to hold them together, causing an explosion that whiped out Thanos and his army, but left only five of us alive."

"Wait a minute, rewind a little. There were multiple heroes fighting at once, but we never met any of the people you met." said Tony, looking at Natasha, who looked at Anya. "Why didn't we know of these people?" she asked, Wiz leaning forward onto the table with a serious look on her face. "Multiple worlds with the same ending. The events repeat constantly like a time loop, except for this world. Why do you think that is?" Tony looked at the wall for a moment in concentration, before slowly saying "We were splintered.." Shuri turned around and spoke up, saying "You caused a split in the time line of this world, it would seem. When the Avengers broke apart due to the Accords, Thanos had less opposition, but there were pieces on the chess board he did not know about."

"Like T'Challa." Natasha said, leaning back, saying "The battleground was different. The pieces of the game were different. Less heroes, but more surprises. Events happened differently!" "Precisely, Miss Romanoff. As for repairing the Stones...It took everything I knew about physics and robotics. Touching the stones with my hands was out of the question, but we had some of Mr. Stark's machinery left to rebuild them. However, they weren't perfect." "Maybe they weren't supposed to be." Stark said. "Doctor Strange told me on Titan that he had looked through fourteen million six hundred and five possible outcomes of this event. From all of those, there is only one where we win. I'm starting to think that you and your friends were meant to be here. This might be that chance." Anya gave the inventor a soft smile, with Natasha reaching out to gently pat her hand. "We'll get through this, together." she spoke softly.

Outside, Thor stood infront of Trevor, saying "Your powers are an extension of yourself. But more importantly, they are your confidence and inner demons. One side is making you weaker, the other needs to be brought to the forefront." "How do you plan on doing that?" "Like this!" Thor yelled as a bolt of lightning slammed down between them, sending Voltage flying back, flipping onto his knees and sliding back, his body starting to crackle with electricity. "Just as I was trained by the best Asgardian warriors, I will train you to become the warrior you can be. I warn you, I will not hold back!" Thor announced as he ran forward, sending an thunder filled punch at the teenager, who brought his arms up to block it, their currents arcing around them. "Your sister's death wasn't your fault. You cannot let yourself drown in guilt or else you'll never reach your full potential!" "I could've saved her! I should have acted faster, but I was scared!" he retorted, the two trading blows repeatedly, with Thor barely feeling Volt's punches, but sent the teenager flying with his own. "Focus on your inner strength!" Thor demanded, only to pause when he sensed someone standing right behind him. Slowly he turned to see Harker, who was watching them, speaking "Ez csak addig lesz. Hadd segítsek (This will only get him so far. Allow me to help.)" as she rolled her neck, Thor nodding his head and saying "Come then, Miss Harker. " Voltage stood back up, shaking his hands and letting his electricity flow around him. Joanne rushed forward in a blur, throwing a punch at her comrade, Thor leaping into the air and bringing down his fists in a backhammer maneuver; the young man caught her fist with his own, sending a current through her body that made her stumble back, but was not quick enough to send out a strong enough jolt to stop Thor from hitting him into the ground. "Get up, Trev. Look inside of you and look past your pain. Find your inner power. Again!" Harker ordered.

The training kept on, with Trevor fighting the two opponents repeatedly, but he still had problems keeping his powers from fully activating. "I can't do this!" he yelled after hitting the ground once more, fist clenched. "You're never going to be able to help beat Thanos if you keep doubting yourself. Why Captain Rogers made you our leader before he died is beyond me!" the vampire snarled. "That's enough, both of you!" Thor said sternly, offering Trevor a hand to help him up. "Harker, thank you for your help, but for now I wish to talk to young Fortune alone." "Fine by me." she answered, turning to walk away, only to see Billy running towards them. "Guys! We got something!" he yelled while waving at them, stopping to catch his breath. "What is it, Wiccan?" Voltage asked him, the sorcerer looking at them. "Steve got a phone call from an ally in New York, we have to head there immediately." "Go with Billy and get the others, Harker. Young Fortune and I will be there in a moment." "Alright, let's go!" he answered, running back to the palace with Joanne right behind him.

"She's quite harsh on you." said the Asgardian, sitting down on a nearby rock while looking up at the sky. "Only because we've been friends for a long time. She was actually the third Young Avenger to be recruited." "Trevor, let me speak openly with you. The death of a loved one is hard to overcome, but it should not consume you. My mother, Frigga died fighting the Dark Elves when they invaded Asgard. Odin, my father, felt his time coming to an end. Both were horrible events, but both made me stronger in ways I could never imagine. Do you know why?" "Because you're an Asgardian?" With a chuckle, the man shook his head. "No. Because the ones I love make me stronger. Gone they may be, but within my heart they remain. I can call on that strength anytime to do battle. You can too, if you allow yourself to do so." "If I allow myself.." Volt said softly, looking down at his fist before getting up and walking with the Asgardian warrior to the front of the palace.

"We're heading back to where this all started. Sharon Carter managed to get through to me on the phone. She said..Coulson has info we need to see." Steve said softly, Natasha looking at him with a surprised expression. "Coulson died during the invasion!" "Evidently not." Stark said through gritted teeth, the group of heroes stepping onto the Quinjet, Anya wheeling herself up, turning back to see Shuri waving at her with a smile. Turning back around, she got into a seat, Billy stowing her wheelchair away. Earlier, Jin had come to the room that Stark, Romanoff, and Anya were in. _"We have to leave pronto. Important bussiness."_ he said in the memory, Stark having looked over at him and going _"What's going on?" "Captain Rogers just got a phone call. We got some intel from a friend over in America." "Wait, what about the projects we're working on?"_ Shuri asked, Anya saying to her _"We can keep in contact via comms, the projects can be completed from both ends. Keep up the progress." "You know I will, young one. You be safe on the other side."_ The two scientists then hugged each other, and the heroes made their way outside.

"This is going to be a bit of a trip. We'd like to get to know you better." Bruce said to the younger members, looking at them with a smile. "You want our life's stories?" Billy asked, giving a look of uncomfortableness, only for Rhodes to say "No, not that much. Tell us how you joined the Avengers in your world." "Well..In that case, guess I'll go first." Trevor responded as the Quinjet rose into the air and took off.

-To Be Continued-


	3. Chapter 3

The Avengers: Battle for the Gauntlet

Chapter Three: A Story of Electricity and Ice

"Trish and I grew up with our Mother in Granite City, Illinois. Our dad was a scientist who worked in gene manipulation, always trying to prove that humans can be more then what we originally thought. He was right; Mom could summon and manipulate light, making it bright as hell if we didn't want to get out of bed." Trevor chuckled to himself at the memory, smiling a little bit. "Trish was in high school when she discovered that ice was her special ability, I was a in tenth grade at the time, she in her senior year." "What all could she do with her power?" asked Thor. "What -couldn't- she do? She could chill the air around her, make weapons out of it, hell one day she flat out skated on it to school, in the summer. Sis was pretty popular at school, got all the good grades. I was more of the troublemaker; Always getting into fights, not listening to my teachers, hanging out with people who I thought were friends. Needless to say my Dad wasn't too happy with me, especially since I hadn't shown off any special abilities. We all thought I was normal, til that one night." "What happened?" Nebula inquired, sitting beside the young man.

"My 'friends' and I decided to break into an old abandoned warehouse to have some fun. However, we didn't know that a local biker gang had been using the place for their weapons racket. We got found, and they put all the blame on me, saying I was the leader." Letting out a humorless laugh, Trevor shook his head. "Some friends, right? The big boss of the gang decided we were all expendable; he had his men ready to kill, but..Trish had followed us to the warehouse. She busted through the main door with a spear made out of ice, hurling it into one of the motorcycle's gas tanks. Things went boom and got hectic fast; those assholes ran off as soon as it went down. But man, you should've seen her in action! She was kicking so much ass until the leader got her from behind with a wrench to the head. Everything inside of me seemed to start tearing itself apart repeatedly, and soon I was up on my feet, charging the guy while letting out this yell. I don't know if it was anger, fear, or what. I just yelled, and the next thing I knew, I had shot out an arc of electricity at the guy, sending him through a window. We thought it was over...That's when the cops showed up."

"'What were you thinking?!' my mom screamed at me as I hung my head low, looking right at the floor in the station, having been handcuffed alongside Trish, the two of us sitting on a bench. The police had refused to hear us out, believing we had broken into the building to start a fire. The biker leader had been hauled along with us,trying to proclaim his innocence. 'Do you have any idea how much this can affect your future, son? And Trish, I can't believe you'd let your brother do something so reckless!" Dad said in a disappointed tone. It looked like we were going to end up in juvenile hall, but..Someone entered the police station. A man who looked like he was in his early twenties, but in reality...He was much older." Trevor said, looking up at Steve Rogers with a smile.

"It was you. Or at least, our world's version of you." "Me? Why would I approach you?" Steve asked, head tilted to the side. "You were still leading the Avengers in our world. The team was always changing, for various reasons and missions. You, Iron-Man, and Thor had decided that it was time to start recruiting a new, younger team of heroes. People who could take up the spots you would eventually want to leave. Captain America had come to ask my sister to join the Young Avengers, having heard of her abilities, as well as her academic achievements. She was so excited to join you guys, this was a fantastic opportunity for her! But...She wouldn't join the team unless you let me come with her. To this day I still can't figure out why she wanted me to become a super hero. Always thought it was to avoid jail or to keep an eye on me. Our Steve Rogers was reluctant, at first, but eventually allowed me to join Trish in living in the Avengers facility." "What was it like, meeting us- other usses? For the first time?" Tony asked from the front seat, glancing back to the teenager.

"Exciting, to say the least! Being able to meet such well known heroes face to face? Both of us were so happy! Our training started almost immediately, with our version of Stark even creating a curriculum so that we could keep studying and graduate when the time came." "That definitely sounds like Tony." Natasha said from the pilot's seat. "Alright, you two got to become heroes, then what?" Rocket asked while having a bored expression on his face.

"We trained for a good long while until finally, we got our first mission. Black Widow had informed us of an illegal narcotic being distributed to people around New York, but there was something very peculiar about it; the drug was giving people special powers." "Drug induced powers? Now where have I heard that before?" Tony said while looking at Steve from his seat with a wry grin, the latter giving him a look that said 'knock it off'. "However, the drug wasn't perfect. It was causing people to develop their abilities too fast, too soon. The overloads were...Not pretty. There was one person who ended up blowing up a small part of Middletown. Worse? The reports were that the one supplying the drug was a former Hydra scientist." Steve gave Trevor a look of shock, saying _"What?"_ "Most of Hydra was taken out when Pierce died, as it happened in this world. However, there were still small groups of soldiers and scientists, always trying to restore the terrorist group. Trish and I were partnered up with Widow and Cap, respectively. The lab was found inside an old subway that had been abandoned for years. The small group of guards were easy enough to take out, but once we got inside the main lab.." Trevor paused for a moment, gripping his pants and taking a deep breath. Harker reached out to place her hand on his and spoke softly in Hungarian "Lassan, Trev. Lélegzik..(Take it easy, Trev. Breathe..)"

"The scientist who had been creating the drug...The one who was causing people to lose control, was Arthur Fortune. My own Dad, a Hydra piece of shit!" the teenager snarled, remembering as Trish glared at their father. "How long had he been working with them? Bruce asked in a small voice. "I don't know...All I remember is..is...Our Mother was laying on a table. The bastard had dissected her for experiments! You've heard the saying 'Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned?' Trish was beyond that. She grabbed his arm and screamed at him relentlessly, demanding to know why. His answer? 'Science is what is important to me. Your Mother, you two? You're merely results of tests and experiments.'" "That's horrible.." Jin said with a horrified expression. "There's a reason I never told anyone about that mission. We were both devistated. Before Widow or Cap could arrest him, I rushed forward and started to punch Arthur repeatedly, burning into his skin with electricity filled attacks, yelling the entire time, demanding that he give our Mom back. Trish had to pry me off of him, and when he tried to pull a gun on me, she grabbed his arm once more, but this time froze it solid before ripping it away from his body, screaming. He should have died that night if you ask me, but instead our superiors got him medical aid, took us back to the facility and gave us time alone."

"You've been through quite a bit, from the sound of things. How did you two get through the trauma?" Natasha asked, looking at the teenager's reflection in the windshield. "It took a while, but we had each other, and our new family." he answered, looking around at the Young Avengers. "Harker joined us after being recruited by Fury, Jin had been working with our Stark on new inventions, and found Anya in Russia after an explosion, bringing her to us. We were a team, we were a family. However, two years after our team had been formed, the hardest battle any of us would have to fight happened." "Thanos." Rhodes spoke, looking at the group of young warriors. "Correct. He had slaughtered untold amounts of people to get the Infinity Stones, but there was only one left. The one belonging to one of our own." "Wait, you mean to tell me Vision dies in your world like he-" Bruce stopped when he saw Billy flinch slightly, saying "Sorry...It's the same way in every universe?" "Unfortunately, yes. That is one of the constants that cannot be changed even with crossing worlds." Anya said from her chair, sighing. "We were hoping to prevent that from happening."

"We all knew what this fight meant. It was either Thanos falls, are half of everything dies. Before we went to fight his army, though...Cap pulled me aside for a moment and said 'Trevor, there's something I have been wanting to tell you. You've grown a lot since the time I brought you back from that police station. But..I look at you, and I see two people; The man you are, and the man you can be. You have potential to be a great hero, but you have to learn to not blame yourself for things that are beyond your control. That being said, we all know there's a chance some, or most of us, might not make it through this fight. I am hereby putting you in charge of the Young Avengers, and Trish will take over for the main team if Tony, Thor and I don't survive.'"

"He had faith in you, you know. He believed you could lead us when the time came. You just need to find that spark to get your mind straight." Harker said to her friend, he shaking his head slightly. "I still don't know why he didn't put Trish in charge, she was way more responsible then I ever was, and more powerful. Thanos landed in New York, and then everything changed. Our lives, our morale, our hope. He got the Mind Stone, and started to rip the Avengers apart. Then came the Snap." Trevor looked up at the older heroes, gulping. "Some of you died instantly, but those that survived gave everything to get the Stones out of the Gauntlet. However he still had one left and Trish.." Trevor caught his breath, trying to swallow tears he could feel coming forward. "She froze Thanos solid, and was going to shatter him with her ice spear, but what we didn't know is that he had managed to close his fist while being froze. The Reality Stone came to life and he reversed it so that she had been frozen over. Then.." he started to cry, bringing his hands to his face as Billy hugged him from the side, Steve and Bruce giving looks of concern and sympathy. "He shattered her, right in front of me. I couldn't move, all that I could do was scream inside of my own mind." Clenching his fists, Volt thought back to that moment; he hadn't been able to do anything once his sibling fell to pieces, only screaming out _'TRISH!'_ from within. A-afterwards, Captain America got the Time Stone, Drax the Soul Stone, Iron-Man the Space Stone, Wanda Maximoff the Mind Stone, Luke Cage the Power Stone, and finally, Doctor Strange the Reality stone. With the Stones in hand, Stark ordered the group to hold the Stones together, sending out a wave of power to kill Thanos. It was an empty victory. The energy from those damned things ended up frying the wielders. We were all that was left."

"What made you come to our world? Why not rebuild your own?" "There was nothing left. We didn't know what to do...We were desperate. Billy picked up a piece of the Time Stone and started to have flashes; different worlds were showing Thanos win the fight over and over again, the results always the same. But then one different time stream caught his attention; Yours. Tell me; If you had a chance, however small, to reset what went wrong, to help those who could live, to save a world from the same fate as your own, what would you do?" "We'd take that chance and do what we could to make things right." Thor said from his seat, giving the young man a nod with a smile. "Exactly. If one chance was all we had, so be it. That's when we gathered up the Time and Space stones, Anya did her best to rebuild them...Then we ended up in Wakanda. "

Joanne gave Trevor a pat on the back, rubbing him gently before looking at the group. "I will tell you my story next."

-To Be Continued-


	4. Chapter 4

The Avengers: Battle for the Gauntlet

Chapter Four: Harker's Journey

Joanne Harker stood up from her seat in the Quinjet, hands clasped infront of her as she closed her red jam colored eyes, speaking "1893, a year of great importance for my family. Allow me to start from the beginning; As I stated before, Bram Stoker's novel was based off of real life events. Count Dracula was a true monster, and my father, Jonathan Harker, along with Doctor Abraham Van Helsing, Quincey Morris, Arthur Holmwood, and John Seward were the ones who stopped at nothing to destroy the creature. They succeeded, but it cost Morris his life." "Just like in the book, right?" asked Billy, smiling. "Yes, but there was something Father asked Stoker to change, a fabrication of of the truth known only to those who were there that night. After defeating the Count, his castle crumbled to the very foundation. Only the very dirt on which it stood remained, but Father believed that if people read that the castle had remained, they would stay away from the land, hence people could live in peace. Also, him and Mother did not have a son, but rather a daughter." "That brings up a question: How old are you, Miss Harker?" Steve asked, watching the Damphyr as she paced a little. "To be honest? I cannot remember. I stopped aging on my twentieth birthday, but that was so long ago.."

"I'm willing to bet you are officially the second oldest person on this jet, I mean you're older than Rogers!" Thor said in a joking manner, with the young woman shooting him a glare and saying "I don't care about that! Anyways, seven years after Dracula had been killed, I was born in England, and raised by both parents with love. However, the people in town seemed to avoid us, like we had some sort of bad smell they didn't want to inhale. I never understood why until I was a teenager. As Father grew older with each birthday, Mother stayed youthful, and I never knew why until one day they took me to the grounds that once held Castle Dracula, explaining the story of how Mother had been endowed with vampire abilities. Though the monster had been slain, she never lost the curse he bestowed upon her, and no one knew why. Father passed away seven months after that..He may have not had our immortality, but he loved us deeply, and Mother was greatly saddened by this loss. But the worst was yet to come."

"What happened?" Rhodes asked as he leaned forward a little bit, hands on his knees while listening intently. "The townspeople had learned about what happened so long ago, and were furious that monsters were living amongst them." "Joanne, you are not a monster.." Anya said softly, the older warrior shaking her head and clenching her hands. "That is hard to believe when your own neighbors march to your door with torches, weapons and crucifixes. Mother and I fled our home, leaving everything behind in England, traveling via train to Hungary, where we had to make new lives for ourselves. She became a domestic servant while I worked as an apprentice in for a blacksmith. He was a kind man who taught me many things when it came to working with metal and steel. I learned how to make weapons for people, or to repair small things like horse shoes. One day, a group of punks decided to try and steal all of his work while he was out buying a few things. Being the only one left in the shop, I grabbed a dagger he'd been trying to repair and did what I could to defend the shop...That's when something both amazing and horrible happened."

"I was moving faster than I ever had before, blurring past one of the attackers and slamming my empty fist into the leader, sending him through the wooden wall and into the forge area. One of them pulled out his own dagger, yet I was able to see his movements as if time had slowed down, and slashed his hand wide open with my own. Another one tried to strangle me with a length of chain, but somehow I had managed to shatter his ribs with an elbow. I didn't understand what was going on, and this was all scaring me. That's when I had realized, I had inherited the same Vampiric strength and speed of Dracula. That bastard's powers were coursing within my veins! I was scared, sickened, ashamed. When the blacksmith came back, he found me sitting in a corner of the forge, sobbing."

"That must have been a frightening experience for you, I'm sorry." said Jin sympathetically, Joanne sitting down beside Trevor with a sigh. "I thought he was going to kill me right there, but he didn't. Instead, he did something I never would have imagined; he made me a pair of knives and told me that if I were ever in danger, these weapons would protect me as long as my resolve was strong. I told my Mother about what had happened, needless to say she was surprised I had been born a half-breed, so we contacted an old friend to look into what I truly was." Harker let out a small smile to herself as the memory came to her mind, looking around at the others. "Abraham Van Helsing had grown much older in the recent years, but he had managed to make his way to Hungary in order to help us. Even though he had aged, he still researched about the undead creatures and had made a discovery; A child of a human and a vampire will gain the latter's strength, speed and regenerative abilities, but retain the human's soul and ability to walk within the daylight." "Have you ever tried seeing what the full extent of your powers are?" Nebula asked, only for Harker to respond "No, I do not know what it all entails because that would require drinking human blood, the one thing I absolutely refuse to do." "That's actually pretty fair of you. But you can't always be afraid of potential." said Steve quietly, Joanne sighing. "It's not the potential I fear, Captain. I fear that if I embrace my full powers, I will become a pure monster, just like Dracula."

"Van Helsing taught me how to use my knives properly, and eventually, I learned how to fight hand to hand normally, without accidentally using my abilities. Mother was so proud of how I had progressed, not just in blending in with the people, but also in becoming a young adult. My twentieth birthday arrived, and that's when my world came crashing down in one night. There was a loud pounding on our door, Mother answered it to see a large crowd consisting of people from the local church, holding up crucifixes and various weapons. It was England all over again, but this time, we had a single ally who stood up for us; the blacksmith pushed his way through the sea of people, yelling out 'These two women are not to be harmed! They've done no wrong and are innocent! The young lady is my apprentice and has defended my shop from thieves. You who would dare endanger their lives must come through me first, I hereby declare them as my family!'" 

"He was a good man who stood up for those he cherished. You were lucky to have him in your life." Natasha said from her pilot seat, Joanne nodding her head while speaking softly in Hungarian "Igen én voltam. Egyike volt azon kevés embernek, akit 'barátnak' hívhattam (Yes I was. He was one of the few people I could call a 'friend'). Those bastards charged him, and he demanded that we run, so we did. Once more we ran for our lives, but some got through. We ran as fast as we could through the various streets, but soon Mother and I got to a dead end in an alleyway, we could hear them approaching.. She turned to me and said 'My daughter, my little Joanne, you must go without me.' 'Why, Mother? We can stop them together!' 'They want blood, and they will have it, but not yours. You will live, and you will one day have to make a choice; Hide from those you believe are the real monsters, or become a champion of the people who will one day accept you. Only then, can you truly understand humans and their fears.' With that, she híd me behind a stack of crates and went into a fury against her attackers, taking many of them down once they arrived, but eventually..S-She...She.." Joanne stammered, clenching her fingers into her palms tightly, causing blood to drip between her fingers. With a look of alarm, Bruce got up from his seat and walked over to the damphyr, kneeling down to take one of her hands and wipe the blood away with a small alcohol pad, whispering "She was brave, much braver then any man could ever be in order to protect a her child. She loved you, and wanted you to live to fulfill your life." Harker looked up at him, offering Bruce the other hand so he could wipe the blood away. "I'm sorry, I did not mean-" "You've nothing to apologize for, Jo. Your pain is our pain, and we share it as one family." Anya said in a sisterly tone, the vampiress nodding at her with a small smile.

"Eventually, I found myself alone, afraid. I lived on the outskirts of a small wharf, where the fishermen would bring me food in exchange for protection from thieves and other problems. Days went by, then months...Eventually years, and years into centuries. I felt so alone as the time progressed, like I'd never be accepted or deemed normal amongst the people. But...One day a man approached me. He was American, bald, wearing an eye patch and dressed in black." "Nick Fury?" Rhodes asked in surprise. "Yes, the very same. I remember the words he had spoke to me to this very day. 'I'm sorry to intrude on your solitude, miss, but I would like a word or two with you.' 'What do you want?' 'My name is Nicholas J. Fury, and I've been hearing some crazy stories lately; There's been talk of a young lady who can run faster then people can blink. She can punch through a concrete wall when angered, -and- she hasn't aged a day in over one hundred years. That has me very curious as to why you're all by yourself out here. You see, I've been recruiting people like you, Miss Harker. I have an offer I want to make you.'"

"He wanted me to come to America in order to join others who were similar to me, young people who exhibited unique abilities..I refused, unwilling to leave my small home. In truth, I was afraid of having to run away again. Surprisingly, he left my in peace, only to return one month later, with someone else traveling with him." "Who?" Tony asked, glancing behind him. "He was African-American, wearing a black trench coat, gloves, sunglasses and boots. He had flat hair, and a deep voice, carrying with him a very peculiar looking sword, as well as pure silver stakes and a large gun with bullets. His name was Eric Brooks, known as the Daywalker, Blade. We went into my home and talked over tea, where the hunter explained to me that being a half-breed was not a curse, but a gift. He taught me more techniques in fighting with my knives, and managed to convince me to join Fury back to America. That is when I met Trish and Trevvie." "I told you not to call me that!" Voltage said in an embarrassed tone, blushing slightly. "You have to admit it -is- kinda cute, Volt." Anya said with a grin. "What did you do when you joined the Young Avengers?" Steve asked, Joanne saying "The very first thing I did was name my weapons; Van Helsing was my mentor in many things, and is very much like a grandfather to me. Lucy Westerna was a good friend of Mother before she was cursed by vampirism, and Mother often spoke of her fondly as I grew up. Hence, I called them Lucy and Abraham, and whenever we go into battle, we dance the dance of death."

Jin stood from his own seat and walked over to Anya, kneeling beside her. "Our stories should be told together, since we have history. Are you ready, Anya?" "Da, let's begin!"

-To Be Continued-


	5. Chapter 5

The Avengers: Battle for the Gauntlet

Chapter Five: Dreams of A Better Life

Anya sat up in her seat, looking over the group before speaking. "I was born in the year Two-Thousand, in Saint Petersburg. The Patellov family had a tradition of working in the machine industry, usually at the docks of the seaport by operating heavy machines such as cranes. Even though the family had good work, sometimes it was hard to make ends meet due to all of the fighting." "Fighting? What fighting?" Steve asked with a look of concern. "There were people who were not happy with the government's way of doing things, felt Russia as a whole should have more freedom and do as they please. This caused much infighting amongst civilians and military, eventually causing chaos to hit the streets."

"However, my family was happy. Mom and Dad loved me, and my siblings. They refused to let any type of chush' sobach'ya (bullshit) to interfere with our lives." Natasha's eyes went slightly wide at the Russian word, giving Anya a look through a mirror that said 'Young lady!' which made the tech expert giggle. "I was told growing up that I would be joining the family in working on the docks, but I knew that was something I did not want to do from a young age. I wanted to do something else, something I thought would be fun." "What was that?" asked Joanne, with the younger one replying "Ballet."

"Alright, switching to auto-pilot. This I need to hear." Widow said while getting out of her pilot seat, walking to the others and sitting down besides Bruce. "How did the ballet go?" she asked Anya, who answered "It was a little overwhelming at first, to be honest. The teachers were strict and perfection was demanded. However, I realized something while practicing my movements and routines; I could understand musical patterns, routines of dance and steps down to a mathematical equation. I was able to dance better due to combining the numbers and music together."

"That's impressive..I've never heard of anything like that before. Was this a manifestation of power or something you learned to do?" Nebula asked with a tilt of her head, the young girl giving a shrug of unsureness. "Honestly? I do not know. It wasn't just with dancing that it worked with; I was able to understand the technology around the house better, repair things that had broken down. I could even see...traces of the internet within the air. It was like I had become something akin to a computer. My family thought I was some sort of genius, and wanted me to go to school for technological experts, but I insisted on ballet. They were disappointed but allowed me to continue. "

"It was your passion, what you really wanted to do. Be proud that you stuck to your guns like that, kiddo." said Rhodes with a nod of approval. "Da, I am happy that I did, because I was eventually chosen to lead the school in a production of Swan Lake." "Wow, that must have been an experience, Anya!" Trevor said excitedly, the young girl nodding with a grin. "Ohh it was so amazing! My heart thudded in my chest the entire time, but the performance was given a standing ovation. That was without a doubt the best day of my entire life...However, the following week, my life would come crashing down around me." she said quietly, Jin reaching over to give her hand a gentle squeeze. "What happened..?" asked Bruce in a soft voice, Anya gripping her knees before explaining "The civil unrest in St. Petersburg had reached a boiling point, people committing acts of violence in the streets, the police making mass arrests, and the worst part? There were those who had gotten their hands on weapons belonging to the military, or at least we thought it was the military. Innocent civilians were being slaughtered on a daily basis, so Father thought it time to make an escape and get everyone to another city. We were on our way home from the dance school when the car was hit by a high powered rocket launcher."

"How did.." Captain Rogers started to ask, but Jin held up his hand to let Anya continue. "The car was flipped over multiple times, and I didn't realize it at the time, but I had been flung out of the side window due to the force of the rocket, knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I could hear my parent's crying, saying out loud 'Godpodi, ne otnimay u nas nashu malen'kuyu devochku. Ne beri yeye ot dvoyey sem'i!' (Please, God, do not take our little girl from us. Do not take her away from her family!)" It wasn't until I had fully regained consciousness that I realized my legs were pinned under the car, and they were in intense pain. I screamed, I screamed so much from the pain, but also because I knew..I knew the damage had to be bad from that sort of act. We thought I'd be stuck there, under our car, until two people slowly approached us; a man in a red and gold suit of armor landing from the sky, and another man in an insectoid like armor that made him look powerful."

Tony slowly turned in his seat, saying "You're saying I was there to rescue you?" "Our version of you, Stark-San. As I said before, our stories intertwine with one another, so allow me to start mine." Jin spoke, standing up to face the group. "I was raised in an almost stereotypical Asian family; we lived in Hokkaido, and of course, I was descended from a long line of doctors. I was told at a young age that I was to continue the family tradition of medicinal study, hard work and bringing honor to the Nakamura name. Thing is, I didn't want that, any of it. I was more interested in robots as a kid thanks to the various anime's playing on the TV, so I decided after I graduated high school that I wanted to go into the robotics field. Dad was -not- happy with my choice, let me tell you. I can still remember how he started yelling at me when I began packing my suitcase that day." he said, taking a deep sigh before speaking in a deeper, grumpier tone "'Anata wa kazoku ni haji o motarashitte imasu! Watashitachiha nansedai ni mo watatte iryo bun'ya ni tazusawatte kimashitaga, sore o sutete omacha de asonde mimasen ka?! WATASHINOIE KARA DETEKEI!'" (You are bringing shame to the family! We've been in the medical field for generations, and you would throw that away to play with toys?! GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!')

The adults and Rocket all looked at him in a bewildered manner as Jin spoke his father's rant in Japanese, the teenagers starting to laugh once he finished with Natasha asking "How is that funny to you?" "Because we heard it multiple times in our world, and each time he does it-" Volt said, still laughing, with Billy saying "He always does that face!" with the older Avengers looking at Jin who had a ridiculous looking expression on his face, causing them to start lauging as well. "Alright, finally some laughter from everyone!"he said with a note of triumph, before continuing. "Anyways, I had started to take classes at Tohoku University in Sendai. It was intense, learning about all the parts and mathematics that went into it, but there was this..Spark, you could say, that I had gotten from one of my professors. So for the project we'd been assigned, I decided to make something that I thought was cool; a robotic version of the Iron-Man Mk 46 Armor." "Oh no.." Bruce said, pinching his nose. "Please don't tell me you created Ultron in your world." "Nope! That was still you two geniuses. However, thing's were different in our world." "How so?" asked Rhodes, leaning forward with his chin resting on his hands. "For starters? Pietro survived Sokovia, joining Wanda in becoming a full blown Avenger. However, the people of the country weren't as lucky as they were in this world. Ultron's army of backups left their homes decimated, and it took greater effort to stop the main body. Afterward, things went quiet for a long time."

"I had managed to make the robot armor a success, but it wasn't perfect. I passed the project, but didn't quite make the marks I had hoped for. Imagine to my absolute surprise when one day at lunch, Tony Stark approached me, saying 'You're Jin Nakamura, right? Supposed to be a genius, built a knock off of my armor, almost got top prize?'" "Good grief, he's full of snark no matter what world he's in." said Steve, with Tony replying "Hey, don't be jealous I have enough charisma to fill a multiverse." "Now -that- is a scary thought" Natasha spoke, Anya letting out a giggle.

"I was floored that Stark would contact me, let alone visit me in person. At first I couldn't even speak right, but soon I managed to form a coherent sentence with 'Hello, yes I am Jin, and it's an honor to meet you.' Next thing I know, he removed his sunglasses and said 'I want to offer you a job at Stark Industries in America. You got the talent, just need some guidance. You'd be living there, salary and benefits.' 'What would I be doing?' 'Helping me make tech to help people, maybe even make your own armor if you can improve your little science project.'" "I was floored, humbled and pumped all at the same time! How could I say no to that? I accepted the offer and was on a plane to America the next day." "What can I say? I have a knack for recruiting talent." Tony said with a grin, the others rolling their eyes as Jin continued. "We worked on making new things every day. I learned things I had never even dreamed of. But the best part of it? I had found a way to mimic his latest armor, the Mk 50, or 'Bleeding Edge'. Instead of nanobots that cover the body, I had found a way to harness bio energy from within that could create a suit of armor that is tough, gives the user super strength, and I was able to integrate tech from the labs into it so I could have a heads up display. Only thing is, I don't use any weapons in it, just my martial arts skills and strength when needed."

"Sounds like you had a lot of fun working for him." Rocket said, before saying "Does this Stark Tech have any...parts they don't need?" the Raccoon asked with a grin, Nebula gently slapping his arm with the back of her hand and saying "Focus, Rocket." "Bah! Can't have any fun with yous guys." "No, no spare parts, nothing like that. But our world's Stark began to teach me the ropes in becoming a hero. We started small, and eventually I began to grow confident in helping the main team out on the less dangerous missions as backup."

"Sadly, turns out being a Super Hero wasn't all fun and games. We'd gotten a call that the Ten Rings- the group that kidnapped Tony back in Two-Thousand and Eight?- had been going on a massive recruiting drive and was causing chaos in multiple countries. Word is that the fighting in Russia was caused by that same group, the weapons being supplied by them as well. Fury ordered Stark and myself to go there and reign in the disorder, as approved by the Russian President. When we got their, our work was cut out for us; there was panic, anarchy, so much death...On our way to a Ten Rings hideout, I saw a car get hit by an RPG, and told Stark we had to help them. Once we got there, we saw a little girl pinned under the vehicle."

"Iron-Man and Kabuto saved me that day. The latter pulled the car off of me while the former ordered an emergency medical airlift to a hospital." Anya said, smiling at Jin, then at Tony as the memory played in her head. "'Friday, give me a reading on her condition.' he told the AI, with she responding in that Irish accent 'multiple fractures and breaks, her legs are completely crushed.'. While I was recovering in the hospital, my greatest fear was founded; I would never be able to walk, let alone dance again due to the damage." Anya said softly, heaving a sigh. "I felt like a burden to my parents, being unable to do much of anything for work. My dreams of a better future were becoming more and more like fantasies." "That must have been a horrible experience, but I know what it's like to not be able to use your legs. You're not alone, kiddo." said Rhodey, reaching over to put his hand in Anya's with a reassuring smile. She squeezed it in return, looking over at Jin. "This guy visited me every day when he had spare time, and soon we became friends. One thing I remember is when he brought me this toy..What was it called again?" "A Gundam, from one of the many, many different shows on the subject. I had gotten her a pose-able Gundam Heavy Arms Custom, Endless Waltz version. She loved it so much, which made me happy." "That's very sweet of you, Jin. I am glad you helped her recover with friendship" said Harker, the Japanese man giving her a smile. "That's not even the best part! Tell 'em Anya." Nodding, she took a deep breath, saying "Due to the loss of my legs, my powers had been given a boost. I could now summon my keyboard and store data inside of my mind. Mr. Stark had also been kind enough to let me stay with him while I recovered, promising Mom and Dad I'd be safe."

"After witnessing what I could do, he introduced me to Trevor, Trish, and Harker. Our Captain America had pulled Tony aside to discuss something while we introduced ourselves to each other. A few moment's later, they came back to us, saying 'Jin, Anya, we want you to join the Young Avengers. It'll be tough, but you have good people by your side, and we think you two would be perfect additions to the team.'"

"What did you say?" asked Thor, who looked at the two with excited curiosity We agreed to join of course! Problem is she didn't have a proper hero name." said Jin. "'Jin already has a name, based off one of those shows he likes watching...Something Rider?' our Tony had asked, with Jin replying 'Kamen Rider, Stark-San. Kabuto to be exact.' 'Right right..Let's see...She's optimistic, smart as all goes, a wizard with technology- bingo.'" Anya recalled, smiling to herself. 'We'll call her Wizard, or Wiz for short.'"

"You really do have a knack for names, huh?" Steve said to Tony, the latter giving the former a 'damn straight' look while Jin spoke "You know..It's kinda funny. In our world, Stark had become our adoptive father, with Peter Parker as our big brother!" Volt threw the man a look that said 'Dude!' as Tony let out a soft gasp, shutting his eyes while Natasha slowly stood up, approaching him. "Are you okay?" "I guess...Just not feeling too hot." he answered, looking down at the stab wound Thanos had given him during the battle on Titan. Natasha sat down to resume piloting the Quinjet, looking the man over, noticing his skin had started to turn a slight shade of green.

Billy stood up in the middle of the group, saying "Right, last but not least, there's my story. Buckle up, it's gonna be a ride."

-To Be Continued-


	6. Chapter 6

Avengers: Battle for the Gauntlet

Chapter 6: Magic & Mystery

"We create things every day: Food, cars, buildings, weapons. Humans are the inventors of all modern things in this world, but since time immemorial, humans created life. That's how we all came into existence, yes?" Billy asked, standing in the middle of the group, arms crossed over his chest. "Yes, but not everything is created like we are." Bruce answered, brow furrowed for a moment. "Example: Utlron and Vision were created with technology and data. Hulk was created via an explosion of Gamma Radiation." "And the Stones were created by the four Cosmic Entities, if the Collector was tellin' the truth." Rocket interjected. "Correct, but what I'm trying to say is not all humans or beings are created naturally."

"In my world, Wanda Maximoff fell in love with the android called Vision, as she did in this world. However, the key difference is they had more time to expand their relationship, develop feelings of true romance. Wanda realized that even though Vision loved her dearly, there was one big problem with their relationship; They could not have children, something both wanted very much." "How did they manage to do that? I mean, you're standing right here in front of us." said Steve with a curious look on his face. "Mom managed to tap into the deepest part of her powers, which as you know were born from being augmented by the Mind Stone. There was a separate part of her abilities that no one could have ever imagined coming to light; she could control small amounts of magic that, with more and more practice, became stronger. Using this ability, she willed two babies into existence: Twin children, named William Thomas." "Wait, she just-" Rhodes started, only for the sorcerer to hold up his hand and start speaking once more "Ah, it all wasn't as simple as that, Mr. James. You see, at first Mom was thrilled to finally have children, twins at that. She and Vision raised them with love and care, as any parent would, but there was something...Off, about the children. Their energies weren't right. In fact, Wanda noticed that they seemed to exhibit some otherworldly powers. Powers that didn't make sense." "But they came from her, didn't they? Shouldn't they have had her powers?" asked Harker, head tilted. "Supposedly, yes. However, much to her horror, one day the twin children vanished. It was only one day later she received a scroll with letters of another language she could not comprehend, so she sought out help."

"Enter one Doctor Stephen Strange, a neurosurgeon who had lost the use of his hands in an accident. Through training and lots of practice, he eventually managed to regain his dexterity via magic, though not completely. The man would eventually become the Master of the Mystic Arts, and one of the most powerful sorcerer's known to man. Wanda showed him the scroll, and he was able to determine the language was from an entirely different realm. The one who wrote the scroll was the ruler of this world, called Mephisto. The children were in fact small portions of his power made manifest. Mom had somehow manage to tap into this demon's force to creat constructs made of magic, and he had taken them back."

"She became powerful enough to access a -demons- energy?" Natasha asked in shock, looking to Billy via the windshield, then glanced over at Tony, giving him a concerned look. "You sure you're okay? You don't look too good." "I'll be fine, must be more tired then I originally thought." he responded, but she had every right to be worried; Stark's skin was looking a sickly green in color, with dark circles under his eyes. "Here, drink this, Tony." Steve said as he handed the inventor a water bottle, the man uncapping it and taking a swig, replying with a small "Thanks." "Everyone was surprised when Doctor Strange explained the situation to them, but he also wanted to help Wanda harness her magic better; combined with her telekinesis, she had the potential to become more powerful, but she refused. The pain of losing the twins was too much for her."

"I'd imagine so, I mean no parent should ever have to endure the loss of a child, magic or real." said Jin, studying Billy before saying "How come you never told any of us about these twins before?" "Because it was something I could never find the right way to describe, like a memory that's constantly hazy, never focusing into a clear picture. But, for some reason when we arrived in this world, all of my memories became crystal clear, even my false birth." " _You_ were one of the twins?" Nebula asked in shock, Billy nodding his head. "Yes. I don't remember what happened after being absorbed back into Mephisto, but I do remember my actual birth. Tell me, do you believe in reincarnation?" "What's that?" asked Anya, pulling her leg blanket a little tighter to get comfortable. "It's when a soul is cycled into another life after death, constantly reliving a new life in each new body. I was born to the Kaplan family, my father a cardiologist, and my mother a psychologist. It was during high school that I discovered my powers."

"I was bullied nearly every day for being such a big fan of the Avengers, Scarlet Witch being my favorite one. But, I was also persecuted for another reason." Billy said, sitting down and running his fingers through his hair, trying to calm himself down. "Billy?" Jin whispered, leaning closer to him, patting his back his voice soft while giving a reassuring "It's okay, you can tell them." "I-I know, it's just it was hard enough with our original group, but having to do it again with people we think we know, who look like those we accepted as family, but are in fact a group of strangers? It's almost like I'm swan diving off a cliff again." "Hey." Rocket said, reaching a paw up to wrap around Billy's finger, saying "Look, kid. Just get it out of your system and get it over with. You're being talked too by a cybernetic Raccoon, so it can't get any weirder then that." Nodding his head, the young man said "I knew from an early age that I was more interested in guys, and when my bully found out, my life became hell." "That must have been horrible.." Steve spoke with sincere grief. "It was..One day I was standing outside the Avengers Facility in New York, and was approached by Scarlet Witch herself. I had been chased and beaten up by the douche bag, my head bleeding slightly. She said something to me that day that I will never forget. 'You can't control the actions of others, but you can control your fear. You can take care of yourself, you're stronger then you think.' I don't know why, but those words resonated with me. As she touched my forehead to heal the wound, something inside of me stirred, memories that had been asleep for a long time."

"Did she stick around to talk to you at all?" Trevor inquired, sitting on the other side of the young man, who shook his head. "Nah, she was busy. Besides, I had things that needed to be taken care of, like that bully who decided to come back and kick my ass again. Only this time, things played out differently in the fact that I defended myself for the first time ever. I fought back, and imagined myself being powerful, like a super hero. However, something happened that I didn't know could happen. As I went to throw a punch, my fist become enveloped in this red energy. He went flying back, and I reached out in horror in a vain attempt to stop him, but the truth is, he did stop. He was dangling in mid-air as I held my hand out, his body glowing the same color as my hand. I was panicked at first, but something inside told me to punish the guy, make him suffer for making me suffer...So I tightened my hand into a fist and he started to scream as his bones were starting to break. I wanted to do more, but then something else hit me like a lighting bolt in my brain, a voice that said 'This isn't you. Let him go!' So I did. I dropped the guy and he ran off, screaming. I ran home and locked myself in my room for the rest of the evening." "Power manifestation can be scary, dude. I'm surprised you didn't hold back from crushing him. What did this voice sound like?" asked Jin. "It sounded...Hmm..Motherly, if that makes sense? Like it was instilling into me morals of a higher nature. To this day I don't know where that voice came from." "Maybe it was Wanda watching you from afar?" Rhodes suggested, giving a look of slight hope for the young man. Billy shook his head quietly, saying "No, it wasn't hers, I would have recognized it. But I am grateful to the voice, if it hadn't interfered, I might not be the person that I am today."

"At school, my friend Kate Bishop approached me and had told me a new transfer student bared an uncanny resemblance to me, only he had white hair. His name was Thomas Shepard, or Tommy." "Wait, I remember you saying before you had a twin brother from the 'false birth'. This guy looked just like you, right? So is he..?" Tony asked, with Wiccan standing back up and making a few gestures with his hands. Within the mandala appeared a young man who looked nearly exactly like the Sorcercer Surpreme, but with a head full of white hair. "Doesn't he look like-" Bruce said in shock, with Natasha finishing "Pietro Maximoff?" "Yes, and there's a reason for that. Before I mentioned reincarnation, and I firmly believe Tommy and myself were reborn from the twin constructs Wanda had created. I don't know how, or why, but when we met in the hallway that day at school, we both felt drawn to each other. We knew things about the other no one else knew, and we realized we has a psychic bond with each other. He too had powers, similar to Uncle Pietro; Super speed, stamina, reflexes. It is said that genetics are passed on from all members of family to the next generation, and I firmly believe that Tommy had received Pietro's hair color due to also reincarnating from a past life."

Thor spoke up next, having listened to the young man's story in silence while thinking. "Tell me this: How did you two approach Wanda about the situation? How did your new parents feel about it?" "Well, they didn't even know about it to be honest. You see, Tom and I had gone to the building to seek her out, only to be informed that she had been recruited by Strange to help him stop an inter-dimensional threat known as Shuma-Gorath, a very powerful being whose mere existence in our world could spell disaster. Naturally, we had the brilliant idea of tracking the two down to a remote mountain in the Appalachian range. When we arrived, Tommy spotted an old, dilapidated cabin that looked like it hadn't been used in decades, but there was this strange light coming from within. I decided it would be the best course of action to investigate, Tommy thought we should stay outside and wait for someone to show up. After some arguing, we stepped into the cabin, freezing when we saw that the light was in fact a Sling Ring Portal created by Strange, combined with Wanda's powers to keep it stabilized and allow entrance into an all new world we'd never imagine existed. We were curious, excited, stupid. To this day I still don't know why we did what we did, but we stepped into the portal, traveling in what appeared to be an instant. What the two of us saw both left us in awe, and scared us." "What did you see?" Bruce asked, listening intently.

"A monster of infinite size, almost like a green mass of flesh but instead of arms and legs, it had tentacles all over, and one giant red eye. The world we had entered was known as the Cancerverse, a reality where death no longer existed, and life was eternal, but those like Shuma-Gorath had corrupted that life, like a cancer. Tommy spotted Strange and Wanda battling against the powerful monster, and so like the young idiots we were, decided to try and help them. I can remember her words to us when Tommy rushed past her, trying to distract that monster from them. 'How did you two get here? Who are you?' with Strange yelling 'Leave at once! This threat is not meant for you!'" Billy opened his eyes after remembering that moment,a small smile coming to his face. "Little did we know how right he was. Tommy was only so fast, and I barely had control of my telekinesis. We were just in the way, but we wouldn't leave until we knew the truth."

"How did you escape from that world?" Nebula asked, leaning forward while listening. "We were -extremely- lucky. Doctor Strange had with him an object called the Spear of Destiny, and using the light within it, temporarily subdued Shuma-Gorath, keeping the creature at bay for at least a little while. We high tailed it out of the portal and back into the cabin, both adults glaring at us before giving an earful of the usual 'what were you thinking?' 'You could have gotten hurt' crap." "Well, they did have every right to be mad at you two. Both inexperienced, traveling to an unknown universe and surviving a giant creature like that? You're lucky you lived." Harker said in a firm tone, Billy slapping his forehead and saying "I know! Like I said, we were stupid and lucky, but we wanted answers."

" 'We wanted to talk to Wanda Maximoff, we think that there might be a connection between us and her.' Tommy had said to them, with the Wanda giving me a look of recognition, saying 'You're the boy I spoke too before. How long have you had telekinesis?' 'I only just developed my powers recently, but more then that..I think-we- think that you are our birth mother.' The cabin went silent for a painful minutes, before she approached us slowly and wrapped her arms around us both, pulling us in for a hug. 'I knew the moment I laid eyes on you both; you're identical, have powers similar to both myself and my brother, but most of all, I can sense in you the bond I had with William and Thomas before they were taken from me. You -are- my sons.'" Billy gave the group a small smile, one of both joy and melancholy. "That was the happiest day of my life, finding my true family. Wan-I mean, Mom, approached both of our families to allow us to join the Young Avengers; we were given permission, but before I fully joined, Doctor Strange of our world took me to the Sanctum Sanctorum, telling me that I had the exact same for magic as Mom did, and wanted to train me in it while she trained me in mastering my telekinesis." "I always wondered how you came back so powerful when we had just met the previous day." Trevor spoke up.

"Both he and Mom took me into a place called the Mirror Dimension; a world where a reflection of reality exists, where time is almost non-existent, and magic can bend the laws of physics, and nature. In this world, they taught me, and the lessons were extreme. 'Try again. Try harder!' I remember Mom saying that to be when I was sent flying back by one of her bolts, having failed to erect a proper shield of magic." "Sounds like you went through a very tough boot camp. But it also sounds like you came off better then before." Steve said with a smile of pride. "True on both points, Cap. Soon I was able to perform spells like Strange, though nowhere near his amount of power, and I gained better control of moving objects with my mind. That's how you saw me fight when we arrived in your world: I combine magical energies with my telekinesis, but I can also use both separately." With quick hand movements, two mandala rings appears on either fist, only colored red instead of the usual orange. "But..Neither were enough. Thanos brought his forces to Earth, and as you've heard before, we're the only survivors." "What happened to your brother?" Rhodes asked softly, Billy's eyes widening for a second with a soft gasp, a hand coming up to his mouth, with Jin reaching out to grab his other hand and squeeze it in comfort. "It's okay, man. Just take a deep breath, and pace yourself." "He was using his speed alongside Uncle Pietro to take out the Outriders, but once Thanos had the Stones gathered, Pietro ran for the Titan, and went for a Mach Four powered-up punch, which sent our enemy backwards, but also shattered every bone in Quicksilver's arm. After that, Thanos returned the favor with a Power Stone infused fist, going right..Right through his torso...Tommy, he...H-He..He went Mach Five, and started to rush around Thanos like a blur, repeatedly punching him while screaming 'Give him back! Give back Uncle Pietro!' 'Poor boy, you know only grief. You will never understand true sacrifice.' That's when the Power and Space stones lit up, and before anyone could react, Tommy was gone." "Gone?" asked Nebula, head tilted slightly with Billy saying "All that was left? The only thing that remained? Was a smoke stain on the ground where he had stood. My entire family was wiped out because of Thanos, and I will -not- allow that to go unpunished!"

"Well hopefully you'll get your chance." Anya spoke up with a reassuring smile. "Alright kids, story time's over, buckle up." Natasha called out, the Quinjet starting to descend slowly in front of the Avengers Facility. "It's about time, I'm getting hungry." Tony said while looking out the windshield, down at the ground where two people stood below them, waiting for their arrival; Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D Phil Coulson, and Pepper Potts.

-To Be Continued-


End file.
